9781422285459

Railways in landlocked countries are important to connect economic activity to worldwide trade networks. Pictured here is a rail line and station with rusted boxcars in Bolivia, a landlocked country in South America.

• • Address the least developed countries’ special needs. This includes tariff- and quota-free access for their exports; enhanced debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries; cancellation of official bilateral debt; and more generous official development assistance for countries committed to poverty reduction. • • Address the special needs of landlocked and small island developing nations. • • Deal comprehensively with developing countries’ debt problems through national and international measures tomake debt sustainable in the long term. • • In cooperation with the developing countries, develop decent and productive work for youth. • • In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries. • • In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies—especially information and communications technologies. As the MDG deadline approached in 2014, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged global leaders to finish the job and meet the targets. Although the MDGs had “raised awareness, mobilized resources, and helped shape policy . . . . [transforming] the lives of millions of people,” he said more needs to be done.

11

Chapter One